FIFA secretly changes its own rules as Balogun 'corruption' plot thickens

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

The Belgian Football Association has accused FIFA of covertly changing its own rules in order to justify its controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's red card ban.

On Sunday, a veritable World Cup bomb exploded when media reports emerged that FIFA had cleared USMNT striker Balogun to play against Belgium despite receiving a red card in the previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The AS Monaco forward had been set off for endangering the safety of Tarik Muharemovic after an unfortunate tangle of legs. Balogun raked down the Bosnian defender's calf and stood on his ankle.

However, because the contact was purely accidental and not really initiated by Balogun, the decision to send him off after a VAR review caused a stir. Balogun was off-balance after being bumped by Muharemovic and was not at all aware of where his opponent's leg was as he was looking in the opposite direction.

The incident was simply an unfortunate accident, but Balogun accepted his punishment without protest, and he later explained that he did not want to argue with the referee because he views himself as a role model to children and felt that it would have set a bad example.

Belgian FA astonished by FIFA behaviour

The 25-year-old handled a tough situation with incredible class. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for FIFA and the US government, which interfered to have the striker's one-game ban suspended.

US president Donald Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to pressure him into clearing Balogun to play, causing outrage and amazement across the world of football. The World Cup has a long history of government interference, but it has been a while since something so brazen occurred.

The Belgian FA released a statement on Sunday, describing its astonishment at FIFA's decision and accusing the governing body of breaching its own rules in what was described as a significant overreach.

Then, on Monday, UEFA published an incendiary statement in which it said that FIFA had "crossed a red line," adding: "We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

Now, the Belgian FA has issued a remarkable update on the situation. FIFA is accused of ignoring the FA and even of changing its own rules so as to justify the Balogun decision.

The Belgian FA claims that it approached FIFA for an explanation on the process that led to the verdict. Rather than offer said explanation, FIFA responded that the Belgian FA's correspondence constituted an incomplete appeal, which had to be finalised within hours.

FIFA then deemed Belgium's "appeal" inadmissible and proceeded to effectively ignore the FA. Even more astonishing, the Belgian FA asserts that FIFA "deliberately" changed its protocol during the routine match coordination meeting and removed the section in which it is stated that a red card automatically entails a one-game ban regardless of whether or not further punishments are suspended or tacked on.

Since it's original statement on Monday, the Belgian FA, pointing to FIFA's own regulations, has argued that there are no legal grounds for Balogun to be eligible because the rules state that a red card automatically entails a one-game suspension and that there is no appeal system in place for this World Cup.

Now, it accuses FIFA of tampering with its own regulations so as to ensure that the 25-year-old is available. The situation is becoming more and more ridiculous, and Balogun, who accepted his punishment, is caught in the middle of a political storm.

Belgium statement

You can read the new communique from the Belgian FA below:

"Following its previous statement, the RBFA wishes to publicly explain the events of the past few hours.

"After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.

"As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.

"For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.

"All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.

"Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation. This topic had nonetheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA, both orally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, yet once again received no response.

"To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player's eligibility for the upcoming match.

"Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole."

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Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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